This cool hole punch makes the teensiest holes…
…and they are uniform with no frayed edges!

Scissors are really a matter of preference…

I have quite a collection!
(This just scratches the surface.)
😀
I like to have a variety for people to try
out when teaching papercutting classes.
(Sounds like a good excuse for owning 100 pairs of scissors, huh?)

If you’re looking for a pair of scissors, check out surgical scissors,
nail scissors, embroidery scissors, and craft scissors.
Find a pair that feels good in your hands and that fit your fingers well.

There are several types of craft knives too…

The metal ones are super inexpensive, but a little uncomfortable
if you do lots of knife cutting. I use the knife a LOT,
so the rubber coated handle is a must-have for me.

A cutting mat is also helpful to cushion your table from knife scratches.
Any brand, any size… Just large enough for your finished piece to lay on.

I honestly think papercutting is one of the easiest crafts to gear up for.
You can usually begin with the scissors you have on hand,
and slowly search for the tools that work best for you.
For fun, you can peruse the cutting section of your local craft store…
punches, scissors, craft knives…
Lots of varieties to try out, and usually not too expensive!

Did you ever have one of those projects that
you just folded up and stuck in a drawer?

I have a few.

There’s an afghan that my grandmother began and I was determined to finish. And those super cute 1980’s-style cross-stitched Christmas stockings for each member of the family. (They have their own families now.) There are numerous scrapbook albums. and there’s last year’s 31 Days of Reading Aloud project. There are probably quite a few more, but I’m just going to leave it at that.

Stop by this month for an occasional look into my studio, a bit of history on the art of paper cutting and the various styles, tips about tools and techniques, new stuff in the shop, and some freebie patterns so you can try your hand at paper cutting! Starting tomorrow, if you click on the 31 Days of Paper Cuts button, it will take you to a list of all the posts!

It’s funny how your creative ideas reflect
what’s been going on in your heart and mind.

“Bloom where you are planted” and “How Does Your Garden Grow?”
are two little ditties that seem to sum up the thoughts I’ve been mulling
over about being content with what we have yet, not growing stagnant….

…about enjoying this season but preparing for the next…

…about tending the garden of “Home,” and waiting
expectantly for that fresh new blossom to pop open…

It takes about 45 minutes to drive from the Atlantic
Ocean to the western edge of our state…
…Unless it is Summer and
“beach traffic” is involved.

It takes a little over two hours to drive from the
transpeninsular line that separates us from
Maryland, to the tip of the “Arc” that defines
our boundary against the state of Pennsylvania.

On our state seal, our official motto isLiberty and Independence…

Delaware is called The First Statebecause we were the very first state to
ratify the U.S. Constitution in 1787.

We’re also called The Small Wonder, and that nickname is one of my favorites.Except for some travel courtesy of the Navy, Hubby and I have lived
our whole lives in Delaware,and have experienced the
wonder of growing up in a very small, very connected state.

A state where…
…You can travel two hours and bump into someone you know.
…You are related to just about everyone in some way or another.
…You know your state senators and representatives by their first names.
…You begin making new connections by comparing old connections.

A state where friendships that you make can
open doors later in life that you never expected.

Yesterday, thanks to the encouragement of an old and dear friend,
our family was blessed to be able to spend some time with Governor Markell.

And, because The Diamond State not only shines as a “jewel among states,”
according to Thomas Jefferson, but also as a friend to other nations,
papercuttings made in a Sussex County farmhouse with a red tin roof
made it all the way to some very special people in Israel.

Special thanks to my friend Kathy
and to Governor Markell and his staff
for this very special opportunity!

In the midst of a long-distance Mother-Daughter phone conversation, somewhere mingled with Design Ideas, Mommy Advice, Airplane Tickets, Business Brainstorming, Children’s Drawings, and Plans-for-When-We-Next-Get-Together, my oldest daughter Jordan and I came up with a Brilliant Plan. While we were talking about the possibilities for developing a single design, the idea of a Grand Collaboration popped into both our heads at just about the same instance! And so did a quote that we both liked…

Home is Where You Are

It’s been nearly four years since Jo’s family has been back on the East Coast, and a good part of our conversation was about Jo, her Hubby Luke, and her boys Jack and Derik traveling back home to Delaware for a couple of weeks in the late Spring. We’d both been searching online for airline tickets, and let me tell you, the price of airline tickets for four people to go across the country is nothing to sneeze at… As a matter of fact, it could make one swoon and fall over in shock. But, where there’s a will, there’s a way!

We gals had an Idea…
…Take that single quote about “Home,”
create some Art around it,
and get those designs on the website, post haste!

Home is Where You Are

Jordan was feeling rather artsy that day, and jumped in feet first,
and got the ball rolling by coming up with
a beautiful sketch in her loose, happy style...

Her Mama, on the other hand, was a tad bit slower, and took a couple days
to produce a matching papercutting in her somewhat-tight, in-the-box style…

And then we set to work to produce a sweet line of prints and cuts that we’ll be
selling on our Etsy shops and websites to help play for those tickets!

My Mom, my brother, and I had an impromptu thrifting adventure last week… They were in a second hand shop about ten minutes from home, and saw some things they thought I might like and called me to come check them out. So I did… Not quite what I needed, but we hopscotched down the highway to several other shops, and at the last shop I found something I wasn’t expecting to find, but definitely something I could use in the art room…

Sitting on an overflowing shelf were three “shapes,” a sphere, a pyramid, and a cube. Just what everyone needs, right? Well, immediately I knew what to do with them… They would be perfect hands-on thing-a-ma-jigs for art classes to help students learn to draw three-dimensional shapes. I’ve been wanting to buy a set for quite a while, but hadn’t gotten around to it, and here was a small set of three, for only $4! I didn’t know how heavy they were until we picked them up to carry them to the counter. Once I brought them home, I realized their intended purpose. The cube had the original tag from (insert famous brand store name) that said “Set of three paperweights… $58” Well! As you can see, we soon put them to their proper use while cutting backing paper for frames! Though I would have never paid $58 for three paperweights, it sure did feel good to know their value.

“Value” means “how much,” and in most cases we think about money or worth when we hear it. Value is also an element or building block of art and design. The last two weeks, we’ve been experimenting with Value in art class… the amount of lightness or darkness an object has. We discovered that extreme darks or heavy shadows can allow the light areas of a work of art to become focal points. And we played with making tints and shades by adding white or black to paint to create some interesting contrasts…

To add a bit more “Value” or “worth” to my Home is Where the Heart Is design, I played around with it by fancy-ing up the border. My favorite papercut border is a bit lacy or icy-looking, but it adds several hours to the cutting process, so I usually reserve it for “one-of-a-kind” paper cuts. But… if my new “assistant” can help with the snipping, I could add that border to the design! Sooo… I re-cut it!

We’ve been filling quite a few special orders around here, and it’s been difficult for me to switch gears and get some new designs “up and going.” I find it hard to strike a balance between producing old designs and playing around with new ones… Either the former or the latter takes over, and something always falls between the cracks. However, the idea of “Home” has been consistently coming to the front of my foggy brain, and a new design has recently emerged…

I’ve been wanting to try cutting something larger with my brand new Silhouette Cameo, and this is the first cutting of this design that came “off the press,” so to speak! When I learned about the Cameo, I had mixed feelings. Something similar to how the lacemakers, weavers, and spinners must have felt when the Industrial Revolution hit and factories began making in a few moments what took them hours, or even days to create. Watching that amazing machine cut away at paper had me and my entire family standing there in awe… And in my mind I was thinking “I’ve just been downsized!”

But then I tried to look at the other side of the coin.

I’ve been cutting paper for almost a quarter of a century. Every day. I love it, but must admit that I often fuss about how my eyes hurt now when I push them beyond their daily limit, and grumble about a sore arm and neck when I’ve been doing lots of papercutting. Maybe it WAS time to take on an assistant. So, during the rest of March, I’m going to play around with this design, exploring the many ways that it can be expanded into products… and hopefully make the best use of technology in the process. Stay tuned!

And… A Giveaway!

The above electronically-cut papercuttingHome is Where the Heart Is(Mounted on Lime card stock, Fits an 8″ x 10″ frame)
will be given away at the end of this month!